President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Friday that the heads of all Ukraine's regional military recruitment centres were being dismissed from their jobs amid concerns about corruption. The mass sacking came as Ukraine urged civilians near the northeastern front line to evacuate on Thursday as Russia ramped up an assault to capture territory already seized once during the conflict. Read our live blog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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10:04pm: France condemns the latest round of Russian missile strikes in western Ukraine
Russia's latest missile strikes targeting civilian infrastructure in western Ukraine and killing one child constitute "war crimes and must not go unpunished", France's foreign ministry said in a statement late on Friday.
The Quai d'Orsay added France would reinforce its military support to Ukraine, notably in strengthening air defense capacities, in close cooperation with its partners.
"France's support to Ukrainian and international jurisdictions to fight against the impunity of crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine remains total," the statement read.
9:36pm: EU delivers Ukraine 224,000 shells under ammo plan
The EU has delivered Ukraine 223,800 shells under the first part of a plan to provide a million artillery rounds to aid Kyiv's fight against Russia, a spokesman said on Friday.
Earlier this year, the 27-nation European Union pledged to step up supplies of much-needed artillery shells to Ukraine as Kyiv's forces faced shortfalls.
Its members agreed to a €2 billion plan to raid their stockpiles and place joint orders for shells in a bid to deliver Ukraine a million shells over 12 months.
8:27pm: White House spokesperson says US open to training Ukrainian pilots with F-16
The White House on Friday said it was open to training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets in the United States if capacity for such training is reached in Europe.
White House spokesperson John Kirby, speaking to reporters, said Washington is eager to move forward with the training.
6:41pm: Missile strike kills eight-year-old boy in western Ukraine, says local official
A Russian missile strike on civilian targets in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region has killed an eight-year-old boy, said the head of regional authorities.
In Kyiv, there were explosions reported that prompted an air-raid alert. Fragments of a missile crashed into a children's hospital in the capital. FRANCE 24's Andrew Hilliar has the latest.
5:32pm: Ukraine begins consultations with UK on security guarantees, says Kyiv
Ukraine has begun holding consultations with Britain to secure security guarantees and Kyiv aims to have the first such agreements in place by the end of the year, a senior Ukrainian official said on Friday.
Ukraine is pushing to secure security guarantees from powers including the United States pending what it hopes will be its eventual accession to the Washington-led NATO military alliance.
2:40pm: 'A reminder that there really is nowhere safe here in Ukraine'
FRANCE 24's Emmanuel Chaze, reporting from Kyiv, said that explosions across the capital at around 10am this morning, far from the frontline, were "a reminder that there really is nowhere safe here in Ukraine", adding that "Russia continues daily to shell indiscriminately on civilian infrastructures".
Air raid sirens were also heard in other cities and in the west of Ukraine, in the city of Ivano-Frankivsk, an eight-year-old child was killed by shelling.
To watch the report in full, please click on the video below.
2:18pm: German 'Russia spy' had access to sensitive info, reports German media
A German officer arrested for allegedly spying for Russia had access to highly sensitive information in his work at the procurement unit of the military, according to Spiegel Online and Zeit newspaper.
The man, named by prosecutors as Thomas H., was working in a department that counted among its tasks the procurement of highly modern systems for electronic warfare.
Citing unnamed security sources, Spiegel said the suspect had "extensive access" to the military's electronic capabilities.
Prosecutors, who announced the suspect's arrest on Wednesday, said the man approached the Russian embassy in Berlin and its consulate in Bonn to offer his help in May 2023.
The arrest came after the domestic security agency BfV in June warned against the risk of an "aggressive Russian espionage operation" as Moscow wages its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
1:47pm: Ukraine to fire all regional military recruitment chiefs, says Zelensky
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Friday that the heads of all Ukraine's regional military recruitment centres were being dismissed from their jobs amid concerns about corruption.
"This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery during war is treason," he said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
Zelensky said top general Valery Zaluzhny would be responsible for implementing the decision and that new candidates for the posts would first be vetted by Ukraine’s domestic security service.
Ukraine has faced recruitment challenges as the war with Russia nears the 18-month mark and the military is occasionally hit by scandals revealing graft or heavy-handed recruitment tactics.
1:07pm: Russian strike kills child in west Ukraine
A Russian missile strike targeting civilian infrastructure in the western Ukraine region of Ivano-Frankivsk killed one boy, prosecutors said Friday, in an infrequent attack in the western region.
"The missiles hit territory near a private house in the Kolomyia district, where a family with three children lived. An 8-year-old boy died as a result of the shelling. Information about other victims are currently being verified," they added in a statement.
12:41pm: Russia says it improved offensive positions again in Ukraine's Kharkiv region
Russia said Friday that its forces had improved their offensive positions around two settlements near the town of Kupiansk in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region.
In a daily briefing the defence ministry said Russian forces had "continued offensive operations on a wide front and improved the tactical situation" in Vilshana and Pershotravneve, two settlements in the region.
12:30pm: Belarus strongman orders contact with Poland amid border tensions
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said Friday he had ordered his government to "contact" neighbouring Poland, claiming he was ready to talk as border tensions between the NATO member and Moscow ally rise.
"We need to talk to the Poles. I ordered the prime minister to contact them," Lukashenko said, according to state news agency Belta. "We are neighbours and you don't choose your neighbours."
12:26pm: Russia says strike hit foreign mercenary base in Zaporizhzhia
Russia said Friday that it had struck a temporary base for foreign mercenaries in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, one day after Kyiv said a hotel was destroyed by Moscow's forces.
"In the area of the city of Zaporizhzhia, the point of temporary deployment of foreign mercenaries was hit," the defence ministry said in a statement.
10:56am: Russian military blames Ukraine for foiled drone attack on Moscow
Russia said Friday it had destroyed a Ukrainian drone over the western outskirts of Moscow, the latest in a growing number of aerial attacks on the capital.
"This afternoon, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using an unmanned aerial vehicle on a facility in Moscow was thwarted," the defence ministry said in a statement, adding there was no damage or casualties as a result of the incident.
10:39am: Germany in talks with arms maker MBDA over delivery of cruise missiles to Ukraine
The German government is in talks with arms maker MBDA about the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, a security source told Reuters on Friday, confirming a report by Spiegel magazine.
Kyiv has been pushing Berlin to supply it with the Taurus, a missile with a range of more than 500 kilometres that is fired from fighter jets such as the Tornado, the F-15 or the F-18.
Several explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Thursday after authorities declared a nationwide air-raid alert, Reuters witnesses said.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko told residents to stay in air raid shelters. Kyiv city officials said that Ukrainian air defences were at work.
7:55am: Authorities in Kupiansk 'adamant' that residents 'should be evacuated'
There has been an uptick in Russian attacks in recent days in Kupiansk, as well as in the 30 surrounding cities and villages. Authorities in Kupiansk are therefore "adamant that the population on this front line area should be evacuated", says FRANCE 24's Emmanuelle Chaze, reporting from Kyiv. Although these areas were "liberated" by the Ukrainian army last September, the Russian army has since advanced on this territory, leaving the population at risk.
Following a Russian attack on a hotel in Zaporizhzhia used by NGOs and journalists, Sergiy Kyslytsya, the UN representative in Ukraine, "condemned those attacks, saying that the UN was appalled at the increasing amount of attacks against civilians, against civilian infrastructure launched by the Russian forces", says Chaze.
Click on the video below to watch the full report.
7:12am: Two Ukrainian drones downed near Russia's Kursk
Two Ukrainian drones were destroyed by air defences on approach to the Russian city of Kursk late on Thursday, the TASS news agency reported on Friday, citing regional governor Roman Starovoit.
10:56pm: Ukraine urges evacuations as Russia claims gains
Ukraine urged civilians near the northeastern front line to evacuate on Thursday as Russia ramped up an assault to capture territory already seized once during the conflict.
Kupiansk and the surrounding areas of Ukraine's Kharkiv region were recaptured by Kyiv's forces in September but Moscow has since pushed back into the region.
"Given the difficult security situation and the increasing amount of shelling by Russian terrorist forces in Kupiansk community, you have the opportunity to evacuate to a safer place," the city administration said.
It said residents could evacuate to Kharkiv, some 90 kilometres (56 miles) west, where they would have the option to move to safer regions, and urged children, the elderly and the sick to leave.
The warning came as Russia's defence ministry announced its soldiers had "improved their position" along the front line near the city, after reporting advances earlier in the week.
10:51pm: Biden asks US Congress for $13 billion in new Ukraine military spending
US President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday asked Congress for more than $13 billion in new military spending for Ukraine, citing the need for continued support following Russia’s "unprovoked" invasion of the country last year.
The funding would support Ukraine and other vulnerable countries "impacted by Russia’s unprovoked and brutal invasion", Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young wrote in a letter to Congressional leader Kevin McCarthy and others.
Key developments from Thursday, August 10:
Ukraine on Thursday said the situation on the northeastern front line near the town of Kupiansk was "difficult but under control" after an uptick in Russian attacks on the settlement. Earlier in the day, local authorities urged vulnerable residents to leave the area.
In the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, a Russian strike on a civilian building killed at least one person and wounded five, Ukrainian officials said. "A fire broke out in a civilian building after the occupiers hit it with a missile. One person is currently reported dead," President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram. The head of the city’s military administration Anatoliy Kurtiev added that five people had been wounded in the strike.
Read yesterday's live blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
